LOL! I caught the Tropeano comment, but not the Santana comment. It looks bad enough to make one error, but two makes it look less like a typo especially considering the Santana comment doesn't make sense.
It has been updated to correct the Santana error: The next most likely is Domingo Santana, as Oklahoma City will give us a better read on where his plate discipline lies than Corpus Christi did. He has to study 100s of minor leaguers (if not thousands), plus fully cover MLB, so it is somewhat forgivable, but makes you realize that it is probably a good idea to realize to take his opinion with a larger grain of salt than others.
I know AAA is a little bit harder than AA, but AA gives a good read on plate discipline in my opinion. Sure, he'll walk less in AAA, but that will be more a function of pitchers throwing more strikes. AAA may test his ability to make contact a little bit more as he'll see less pitches over heart of the plate.
Yeah, I think he meant his original opinion about Lancaster to CC and is now just covering for the mistake.
So with 3 significant top 100 lists, and BA's top 10 here's what we got Carlos Correa______MLB #8____BP #5____FG #4____BA 1st George Springer____MLB #21___BP #20___FG #19___BA 2nd Mark Appel________MLB #17___BP #21___FG #11___BA 3rd Mike Foltynewicz___MLB #55 __BP #43___FG #70___BA 4th Jonathan Singleton_MLB #50___BP #57___FG #78___BA 7th Lance McCullers____MLB #52___NR_______NR_______BA 5th Delino DeShield Jr.__MLB #66___NR ______FG #80____BA 11th Vincent Velasquez__NR________NR_______FG #82____BA 6th There seems to be a consenseus on the top 5. Correa is universally regarded as elite. I'm assuming Singleton will still be on BA's top 100 given he is on all the other lists, and they have McCullers and Velasquez above him, so it seems likely they are on too. Santana,Feliz and Woj were all ahead of DD on BA's list, curious if any of them make it. In the BA Q&A the writer seemed to go out of his way to suggest they were still very high on DD, despite him being out of the top 10.
This weeks Ask BA explores a very offseasonish question: is the backend of the 2014 Astros top 30 better than the 2010 Astros top 10? Long story short, the 30th ranked 2010 Astros system was quietly a productive class producing two all-stars, one everyday third baseman and a servicible starter. The article also produces some very surprising names (to me) that were included on the top 30 in anticipation of the BA Handbook release. Gustave and Guduan are a righty and lefty with 100mph fastballs who haven't done much above short season ball. Their inclusion means a lot of much closer, much higher floor prospects were left off the list. It teases me enough to shell out the cash for the handbook.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p>Astros pitcher Mark Appel underwent an appendectomy yesterday & is recovering. Astros say it was a standard procedure with no complications.</p>— Mark Berman (@MarkBermanFox26) <a href="https://twitter.com/MarkBermanFox26/statuses/429398347430912001">January 31, 2014</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p>On pitcher Mark Appel's appendectomy Astros GM Jeff Luhnow said in a statement: "Mark will be fine. He will report to camp on time."</p>— Mark Berman (@MarkBermanFox26) <a href="https://twitter.com/MarkBermanFox26/statuses/429398801434963968">January 31, 2014</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Even for laparoscopic cases, I tell my appendectomy patients no heavy lifting/straining for 6 weeks. I'm sure some long toss in 3 weeks won't be a huge deal though.
Just got my copy of the 2014 BA Prospect Handbook. If you're waiting for your copy, please don't click the spoiler. Spoiler The Astros system is ranked #5 in the entire league, and 3rd in the AL. The 4 teams above them: Pirates, Red Sox, Twins (and I'm a bit iffy on that, since Minnesota is basically the Buxton and Sano Show), Cubs Baseball America's editors do a personal top 50 at the beginning of the book, and here's where Astros prospects stand: John Manuel Carlos Correa #7 George Springer #19 Matt Eddy Correa #4 Springer #27 Mark Appel #35 Jonathan Singleton #48 J.J. Cooper Correa #11 (the 4 immediately above Correa in Cooper's list are Addison Russell, Francisco Lindor, Archie Bradley, and Jonathan Gray) Springer #25 Ben Badler Correa #6 Springer #25 Appel #36 Top 2014 rookie: Springer. Chris Lee was tabbed as the "Breakout Prospect," and Juan Minaya was labeled as the sleeper. Draft Analysis Best Pure Hitter: Conrad Gregor Best Power Hitter: Jake Nottingham Fastest Runner: Tony Kemp (65 speed at his best) Best Defensive Player: James Ramsay Best Fastball: Appel Best Secondary Pitch: Either Appel's slider or his changeup. Best Pro Debut: Tyler White, Kyle Westwood Best Athlete: Kemp Most Intriguing Background: Appel, Kacy Clemens Closest to the Majors: Appel Best Late-Round Pick: Westwood The One Who Got Away: Alex Schick Depth Chart The depth chart is constructed according to where BA thinks a player will ultimately end up. That is why Nolan Fontana is listed as a 2B. LF Teoscar Hernandez Leo Heras Danry Vasquez Preston Tucker Marc Krauss Austin Wates Brandon Meredith CF George Springer Delino DeShields Andrew Aplin Brett Phillips James Ramsay Jason Martin Nestor Tejada RF Domingo Santana Ariel Ovando Dan Gulbransen Felix Lucas 3B Rio Ruiz Jonathan Meyer Tyler White Matt Duffy SS Carlos Correa Wilson Amador Wander Franco Joan Mauricio Thomas Lindauer Jio Mier Joe Sclafani 2B Nolan Fontana Ronald Torreyes Tony Kemp Enrique Hernandez 1B Jonathan Singleton Conrad Gregor Japhet Amador Telvin Nash Bobby Borchering C Max Stassi Carlos Perez Tyler Heineman Rene Garcia Roberto Peña Jake Nottingham Alfredo Gonzalez Brian Holberton Left-handed starters Josh Hader Kent Emanuel Chris Lee Luis Cruz Rudy Owens Austin Nicely Randall Fant Left-handed relievers Kevin Chapman Reymin Guduan Alex Sogard Kenny Long Right-handed starters Mark Appel Mike Foltynewicz Lance McCullers Vince Velasquez Michael Feliz Asher Wojciechowski Andrew Thurman Nick Tropeano Jake Buchanan Kyle Smith Brady Rodgers Aaron West Devonte German Right-handed relievers Gonzalo Sanudo Jandel Gustave Jose Cisnero Chia-Jen Lo David Martinez Adrian Houser Juan Minaya Kyle Westwood Francis Ramirez BEST TOOLS Best Hitter for Average: Carlos Correa Best Power Hitter: George Springer Best Strike-Zone Discipline: Nolan Fontana Fastest Baserunner: Delino DeShields Jr. Best Athlete: George Springer Best Fastball: Mike Foltynewicz Best Curveball: Lance McCullers Jr. Best Slider: Mark Appel Best Changeup: Vince Velasquez Best Control: Jake Buchanan Best Defensive Catcher: Roberto Pena Best Defensive Infielder: Carlos Correa Best Infield Arm: Carlos Correa Best Defensive Outfielder: George Springer Best Outfield Arm: Brett Phillips Top 15 Players 25 and Under 1. Carlos Correa 2. George Springer 3. Jarred Cosart 4. Mark Appel 5. Mike Foltynewicz 6. Lance McCullers 7. Vince Velasquez 8. Jonathan Singleton 9. Domingo Santana 10. Michael Feliz 11. Jose Altuve 12. Brett Oberholtzer 13. Jonathan Villar 14. Asher Wojciechowski 15. Matt Dominguez And now, here are the top 30 prospects and their grades in the Houston Astros organization (and an excerpt from some of these back-end guys), as ranked by Baseball America. 31. Ronald Torreyes, 2B/SS (included in a bonus supplement if you ordered from BA), 40/Medium 30. Brett Phillips, OF, 50/Extreme 29. Danry Vasquez, OF, 45/High 28. Reymin Guduan, LHP, 50/Extreme On his emergency promotion to OKC all the way from the GCL: Seriously: 27. Jandel Gustave, RHP, 50/Extreme 26. Gonzalo Sanudo, RHP, 45/High 25. Leo Heras, OF, 45/High 24. Chris Lee, LHP, 50/Extreme 23. Kent Emanuel, LHP, 45/Medium 22. Kyle Smith, RHP, 45/Medium 21. Jake Buchanan, RHP, 45/Medium 20. Nolan Fontana, SS, 45/Medium 19. Andrew Aplin, OF, 45/Medium 18. Nick Tropeano, RHP, 45/Medium On the tandem approach: 17. Kevin Chapman, LHP, 45/Medium 16. Teoscar Hernandez, OF, 50/High 15. Andrew Thurman, RHP, 50/High 14. Josh Hader, LHP, 50/High On his delivery: 13. Delino DeShields, OF, 50/High No mention of his effort/attitude issues. 12. Max Stassi, C, 50/High 11. Rio Ruiz, 3B, 50/High See post #47 for the reports on the top 10. 10. Asher Wojciechowski, RHP, 50/Medium 9. Michael Feliz, RHP, 55/Extreme 8. Domingo Santana, OF, 55/High 7. Jonathan Singleton, 1B, 55/High 6. Vince Velasquez, RHP, 55/High 5. Lance McCullers, RHP, 55/High 4. Mike Foltynewicz, RHP, 60/High 3. Mark Appel, RHP, 60/High 2. George Springer, OF, 65/Medium 1. Carlos Correa, SS, 70/Medium - Correa's risk grade decreased to Medium while retaining a 70. Springer's risk grade also dropped to Medium while retaining a 65. - Singleton dropped from a 65/Medium to a 55/High. - While McCullers now has a High risk grade, his number grade dropped from 65 to 55. - Rio Ruiz's grade dropped to a 50, but his risk grade went to High. - Folty went from a 55 to a 60. - Santana went from a 60 in 2012 to a 50 in 2013 and a 55 in 2014. - Velasquez went from a 50 to a 55. - Hader went from a 45 to a 50. - Buchanan was rated a 40 in 2012, but he's now sporting a 45. - Vasquez was a top prospect in a thin system, but he's at the back of the top 30 in this system. Top 30 Breakdown By numerical grade 1 70 (Correa) 1 65 (Springer) 2 60s (Appel, Foltynewicz) 5 55s (McCullers, Velasquez, Singleton, Santana, Feliz) 11 50s 10 45s By risk 10 Medium 15 High 5 Extreme 21 homegrown players, 9 acquired 8 college, 1 JUCO, 7 high school, 5 international players All 9 acquired players came via trade. By position: 12 RHP, 5 LHP, 4 CF, 3 LF, 1 RF, 1 3B, 1 SS, 1 2B, 1 1B, 1 C Welcome back: Jake Buchanan returned to the book after dropping out in 2013. He was #13 in 2012. Kevin Chapman, after being the bonus supplement prospect in 2013, returned to the book. He was #18 in the Royals system in 2012. There were 13 new names on the top 30 this year. New faces (read as: had not been on another team's list): Michael Feliz, Andrew Thurman, Teoscar Hernandez, Kent Emanuel, Chris Lee, Leo Heras, Gonzalo Sanudo, Jandel Gustave, Reymin Guduan New to list, but have appeared in another team's list: Max Stassi (#14 A's, 2013), Josh Hader (#19 Orioles), Kyle Smith (#12 Royals), Danry Vasquez (#6 Tigers) 2013 Draftees in Top 30: Appel, Thurman, Emanuel Dropouts: Jose Cisnero, Adrian Houser, Ross Seaton, Chia-Jen Lo, Brady Rodgers, Austin Wates, Carlos Perez, Aaron West, Tyler Heineman Graduated off list: Jarred Cosart, Jonathan Villar, Robbie Grossman, Brett Oberholtzer, Josh Fields, Paul Clemens Biggest rise: Feliz (previously unranked) Biggest rise from within the list: Velasquez (#13 in 13, #6 in 14) Biggest drop: Jose Cisnero (was #15) Biggest drop while remaining in the top 30: Brett Phillips (was #18); Danry Vasquez dropped 23 spots (#6 in 2013, #29 in 2014), but that was in between systems. Top 30 by draft class/signing date 7 drafted in 2012 (Correa, McCullers, Ruiz, Fontana, Aplin, Phillips; Hader by Orioles) 6 drafted in 2010 (DeShields, Foltynewicz, Velasquez, Buchanan; Wojciechowski by Blue Jays, Chapman by Royals) 4 drafted in 2011 (Springer, Tropeano, Lee; Smith by Royals) 3 drafted in 2013 (Appel, Thurman, Emanuel) 3 signed in 2010 (Feliz and Gustave; Vasquez by Tigers) 2 drafted in 2009 (Singleton by Phillies, Stassi by A's) 2 signed in 2011 (Hernandez; Sanudo by Twins) 2 signed in 2009 (Guduan; Santana by Phillies) 1 signed in 2013 (Heras)
As you were. <blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p>The Astros will be adding a second club to the Dominican Summer League.</p>— Brian McTaggart (@brianmctaggart) <a href="https://twitter.com/brianmctaggart/statuses/430759367084740608">February 4, 2014</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p>With the addition of the second DSL club, the <a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=%23Astros&src=hash">#Astros</a> now have nine Minor League affiliates, (seven domestic, two international).</p>— Brian McTaggart (@brianmctaggart) <a href="https://twitter.com/brianmctaggart/statuses/430759718001184768">February 4, 2014</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Interesting they felt the need to get a second foreign based summer league team. They used to have a Venezuelan summer league team but haven't had one for a few years now. Sounds like Luhnow and Co are really committed to bringing back a Latin American pipeline.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p>In DR as usual, 73 in camp. Hard not to get excited about the players on the field and the staff developing them.</p>— Oz Ocampo (@OzOcampo) <a href="https://twitter.com/OzOcampo/statuses/430864299708276736">February 5, 2014</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p>Very excited about our 2nd DSL team as well as the addition of Carlos Alfonso to our international team <a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=%23raisingthebar&src=hash">#raisingthebar</a></p>— Oz Ocampo (@OzOcampo) <a href="https://twitter.com/OzOcampo/statuses/430864425210232832">February 5, 2014</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Carlos Correa wants to show the Astros that he's ready for Corpus Also see: http://bbs.clutchfans.net/showthread.php?t=250497
Don't forget that the Astros could receive 2 PTBNLs; one from the Padres (who could send cash instead) for the Anthony Bass deal, and one from the Rockies to complete the Dexter Fowler deal. Pretty much all of the 2013 draftees for both teams are out of the question; the only possibilities are from the Padres, and since the trade occurred on December 11, they had to have been signed on June 11, 2013. 14 players fit this criteria: RHP Bryan Verbitsky (3) RHP Trevor Gott (6) RHP Adam Cimber (9) RHP Justin Livengood (10) LHP Erik Schoenrock (11) C Ryan Miller (14) 1B Trae Santos (17) LHP Brandon Fry (18) C Michael Miller (20) 3B Chase Jensen (22) RHP Josh Richardson (26) 2B Michael Bass (27) RHP Kyle Lloyd (29) LHP Jeffrey Enloe (37) Lake Elsinore roster Fort Wayne roster Eugene roster AZL Padres roster The Fowler trade occurred on December 3. That means that none of the Rockies' 2013 draft picks are eligible to be traded. Modesto roster Asheville roster Tri-City roster Grand Junction roster
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p>On June 10, the <a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=%23Astros&src=hash">#Astros</a> will hold a game at Minute Maid Park between Double-A Hooks and San Antonio Missions.</p>— Brian McTaggart (@brianmctaggart) <a href="https://twitter.com/brianmctaggart/statuses/432948129755717632">February 10, 2014</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p>The Hooks and Missions will play at 6:10 p.m. at Minute Maid Park on June 10.</p>— Brian McTaggart (@brianmctaggart) <a href="https://twitter.com/brianmctaggart/statuses/432948745265631232">February 10, 2014</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
